<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The High Priestess by canvasghost</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28307397">The High Priestess</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/canvasghost/pseuds/canvasghost'>canvasghost</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon divergent but could still be canon compliant, Fix-It of Sorts, Gender Neutral V, Major Endgame Spoilers, Other, The longest of long cons, sibling fic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:14:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,843</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28307397</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/canvasghost/pseuds/canvasghost</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><strong>MAJOR end game spoilers.</strong><br/> </p><p>A twist to the Arasaka-based ending: the exploration of Hanako and Yorinobu's relationship over the years, and what that means for their father's lofty goals.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hanako Arasaka &amp; Yorinobu Arasaka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The High Priestess</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>
  <strong>This is important to read/know before starting this story:</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>I was drawn into the lore of Cyberpunk and found myself surprised by some of the information in the Cyberpunk Fandom Wiki articles. This fic was born from the realization that Yorinobu wasn't a bad guy and that Hanako cherished their relationship deeply, at least as stated by the 'canon' in the Wiki pages. I am going to cite six quotations (I know six is a lot but please bear with me) from the Wiki that gave rise to this fic:</p><p>1) "Hanako is an intelligent woman who doesn't agree with her father's ambitions and has her own agenda she plans to follow. Despite knowing what her father's wishes entail with her, she still loved and didn't want to displease him. Her relationship with her brother Yorinobu is one of great importance to her." (1st paragraph of "Overview": https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Hanako_Arasaka)</p><p>2) "Cut off from the outside world, she learned how to travel and explore the Net instead. Saburo made sure that Hanako was never made aware of the darker side of the corporation, but, through her Net explorations, Hanako was just beginning to suspect the horrible truth." (2nd paragraph, "Biography, 1999-2020": https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Hanako_Arasaka)</p><p>3) "Her closest family member was Yorinobu, her older rebellious brother of the same mother. Hanako and Yorinobu would regularly meet in the Net while he rode with the Steel Dragons."  (4th paragraph, "Biography, 1999-2020": https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Hanako_Arasaka)</p><p>4) "The day after 21 year old Yorinobu Arasaka graduated from Todai, Saburo brought him to his private chambers at the compound. There he explained to his youngest son the true nature of the Arasaka Corporation. Rather than agreeing with his father's vision, as Kei had, Yorinobu was secretly appalled and chose to stay silent as his father kept speaking. That night, after a celebratory dinner given in his honor, Yorinobu slipped out of the compound and vanished into the Tokyo night.[1]</p><p>Four years later, 25 year old Yorinobu had gathered about him a cadre of tough Tokyo nomads (Bosozoku): 'Kotetsu no Ryu'...the Steel Dragons. Together, they had sworn to expose and destroy Arasaka." (1st and 2nd paragraph, "Biography": https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Yorinobu_Arasaka)</p><p>5) "Once a month Yorinobu and Hanako secretly communicated through the net, reaffirming their fraternal love for one another.[3]"  (3rd paragraph, "Biography": https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Yorinobu_Arasaka</p><p>6) "In 2045, Yorinobu led the Taka (鷹) Faction of the Arasaka Corporation. Originally thought to have been Soulkilled by his elder brother Kei, it turned out that the person who ended up under the probes was a body double[.]" (1st paragraph, "Biography, 2045": https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Yorinobu_Arasaka)</p><p>If this is all true/ties into the game's canon, somehow... somehow the Arasaka ending doesn't seem right, to me. So I present my fix-it fic: an angsty longest of long cons.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3></h3><p>She is eleven, he is fifteen. In another world, in another life, maturity has already gripped those of equal age. Hardships have been encountered, reality has been unveiled--or perhaps it was never veiled to begin with.</p><p>
  <em>It is strange, she reflects, to be born without clear sight. It is strange to realize hundreds upon thousands wished for her status, for her family, and yet it is she who is envious of them. She wishes it hadn’t taken her so long to see the world, her world, as it truly was. Alas, she digresses.</em>
</p><p>“Father, please,” Yorinobu is saying, and she is back in the present, the past, the memory before her.</p><p>Her father is still, gazing out across Tokyo. His back is to them but it does not matter. Even if he were to face them, she knew he’d be equally as unreadable.</p><p>She says nothing.</p><p>“I did not mean to displease you,” Yorinobu continues, and he is--<em>young, so young.</em></p><p>“It is not about pleasure,” he father begins.</p><p>
  <em>His voice is like gravity, she thinks. Low and slow, seemingly calm, it both grounds and imprisons you. The feeling of your feet on the ground is inevitable, safe in some ways, but you know you can never fly.</em>
</p><p>“It is about family,” her father still will not face them. “You know Hanako is not to leave the compound. There are many who wish to harm me, to harm our family. Hanako is a woman,” he turns then, eyes briefly sweeping past Hanako before hardening and piercing into Yorinobu. “The fate that awaits her in enemy hands will be much different from yours, my son.”</p><p>She feels a shiver go down her spine.</p><p>“Today you put your sister at great risk,” her father continues, slowly walking towards her trembling brother. “What do you have to say for yourself?”</p><p>Yorinbou looks away from their advancing father, looks to her, horror and fear in his eyes.</p><p>“Hana-chan, I am so sor--”</p><p>His words are cut short by Saburo’s backhand connecting with his cheek.</p><p>“You are almost a man, Yorinobu,” her father is still again, arms behind his back. Yorinobu is on his knees, holding his cheek, eyes wet. “If you are to use words, do not waste them on empty apologies. Make a vow, instead. A vow to never endanger your sister again.”<br/>
</p><p>“I… I vow,” Yorinobu whispers, and her father is walking away again, back to the window.</p><p>They are dismissed.</p><p>She goes to her brother, helps him stand. His palm leaves his cheek to touch hers. She takes in the angry red swelling across his cheekbone and wonders if she could have done anything different, said anything different--<em>said anything at all</em>.</p><p>“Dont cry, Hana-chan,” Yorinobu murmurs gently, wiping her tears away.</p><p>She didn’t even realize she’d begun to cry.</p><p>His hand slips from her face to her fingers, and she squeezes tight as they leave their father’s office together.</p><p>
  <em>’I’m sorry, Yorinobu,’ she thinks both then and now. ‘I’m so sorry.’</em>
</p>
<h6></h6><p>She is seventeen, he is twenty-one. He has just graduated from Todai, and she is bursting with pride.</p><p>However, she can’t help but notice his stiffness as the night goes on. This party is for him, he should be basking in the glow of his accomplishments. She knows their father has high hopes for him--he had taken Yorinobu to his private compound earlier that day. Her eyes shift to Kei, laughing at her father’s right-hand-side. She wonders if Kei knows; she wonders <em>(worries)</em> if he feels threatened. </p><p>“Sister,” Yorinobu’s voice breaks her from her thoughts, and she smiles as he approaches her. “Dance with me.”</p><p>“Of course, Yorinobu-senpai,” she teases, but there is a strained smile on his face.</p><p>“Don’t call me that, please,” he murmurs, leading her to the dance floor. “I am no one’s senpai.”</p><p>“I heard father had a private meet with you,” she says quietly and their bodies fall into the steps of a traditional waltz. “Are you not ascending within the company, now that your studies are over?”</p><p>His grip on her tightens, just a fraction.</p><p>
  <em>She didn’t notice it then, but she does now.</em>
</p><p>“Hana-chan,” there is a strange tone in his voice as he whispers in her ear. She cannot place it.</p><p>
  <em>Disgust. Fear. Urgency. Sadness.</em>
</p><p>“I am leaving tonight.”</p><p>“What?” her voice is a soft gasp and she almost pulls away, but he holds in her place.</p><p>“Please, Hana-chan, listen to me,” he spins them so she is angled away from her father.</p><p>
  <em>The shock had been clear on her face. He was protecting her, protecting them. She can see that now.</em>
</p><p>“Father… he is not who you think,” he whispers in a low, fierce tone. “Arasaka is not what you think. I did not think these things either, but now... I cannot be a part of it.”</p><p>Her stomach feels like lead, and ice licks through her veins.</p><p>“Brother,” she struggles to keep her voice low, “what are you saying…?”</p><p>“I am saying I need to leave. This is the path I have chosen, Hana-chan, please do not try and stop me.”</p><p>The song ends, another begins, and he steps away from her. She takes in her brother’s sad smile, his apologetic but determined eyes, and she finds the power to push down her shock and school her own features. He gives her a small nod and then his own mask settles back into place, and he approaches a new partner.</p><p>“Hanako-sama, may I have the honor of a dance?”</p><p>One of Kei’s guards has approached her, and she is not unaware of the timing. </p><p>“It would be my pleasure,” she smiles and takes his hand. “Tell me of your travels in Africa. No business, please, Kei-san has already covered that. My brother can recall every detail of a business partner but cannot tell me what a giraffe is like up close.”</p><p>He laughs, and she feels Kei’s eyes on them. The conversation flows easily, and she feels his gaze wane and finally wander as their dancing <em>(their talking)</em> continues.</p><p>She lets out an internal sigh of relief. She has kept Yorinobu safe.</p><p>For now.</p>
<h6></h6><p>She is twenty-two. He would be twenty-six, but he is dead.</p><p>She refuses to leave her room. Kei comes by a few times, tries to justify his actions, tries to tell her that Yorinobu is still around, in a way. She never opens the door and never responds to him, she doesn’t even allow him the sound of her sobs. She holds her breath, bites her cheeks, and waits. Sometimes minutes, sometimes hours. He always leaves, eventually.</p><p>She weeps and weeps and weeps.</p><p>How could their father have authorized this, allowed this? How could Kei have carried it out? Soulkiller was a fitting name, indeed. She did not want a digital copy of her brother, she wanted him, the real him.</p><p>She does not go on the Net for weeks. What had started as a way to keep in contact with Yorinobu had turned into so much more. The things she had seen, the things her father had done…</p><p>Still, she never thought he’d go as far as this.</p><p>When she finally connects, it is with a heavy heart. She cannot let sentimentality obscure her sight any longer. In a way, the Net was her and Yorinobu’s place. Where they’d met for years, traded information, traded comfort. She could not avoid it now though, Yorinobu would never forgive her if she did. She had to stay connected to the outside world, even if that connection was a painful reminder of him.</p><p>She closes her eyes in the real world and loses herself to the digital sensations. When she opens her eyes again, she is in the Net and--</p><p>“You’re late, baby sister.”</p><p>Her head whips to the side. Yorinobu is before her, leaning casually against a wall. Even though there is no air in her lungs, not here, she still feels the wind knocked from them. She spins away from him to scour the digital room, running diagnostics.</p><p>“If this is some sick joke,” she begins, still breathless, still scanning, “I swear I will find you and kill you for using my brother’s visage against me.”</p><p>“Hana-chan,” his voice is soft as he pushes away from the wall. She is frozen, pain and anger and hope swelling in her chest as her scanner finalizes the truth in front of her.</p><p>He approaches her slowly.</p><p>
  <em>She was a wild animal, then. Fight and flight warring within her as she stood frozen in digital space.</em>
</p><p>He cups her face.</p><p>“I did not mean to hurt you, Hana-chan,” he whispers. “If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, all will be explained.”</p><p>She sobs then, ugly and unabashed, and throws her arms around him.</p><p>He is twenty-six, and he is alive.</p>
<h6></h6><p>She is forty-six, he is fifty.</p><p>Kei is long dead, and Yorinobu has stepped out from the shadows. His living status has caught their father off-guard. To even his closest of guards, Saburo is as impassive as ever. Hanako, though, Hanako can see that his posture is too straight, his shoulders too tight.</p><p>“Hanako,” he says, his back to her like usual as he gazes across Tokyo.</p><p>
  <em>It is a sight she has seen before, many times before.</em>
</p><p>They are alone in his office.</p><p>“Did you know about Yorinobu?” her father asks, still facing away.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>He shifts, ever so slightly, and she steels her nerves and prays.</p><p>“Hanako, heart of my heart,” he turns slowly, and the light behind him casts a faint glow around his body.</p><p>
  <em>A devil presenting as a god.</em>
</p><p>“You dare not lie to your father,” he says, and his eyes are piercing. “I will ask one more time: did you know about Yorinobu?”</p><p>She feels herself tremble and decides to use it to her advantage.</p><p>“No,” she hisses, playing off her fear as anger. “I grieved for him, more than any other. You know this, father.”</p><p>He stares at her a moment before his gaze slides to his laptop. He hums slightly.</p><p>“He has made quite the scene.”</p><p>“I am aware,” she says, lacing her voice with contempt. She knows she is not out of the woods yet. “He could have told me first. Instead I have to find out like…” she allows her voice to hitch,”...like this.”</p><p>Her father’s eyes are back on hers again, but they have softened.</p><p>“Told you?” he considers, but his tone is not accusatory. “Not told us?”</p><p>“Father, I meant no disrespect--”</p><p>“I understand, Hana-chan,” he sighs, and she fights to not let her relief show. “You always had a special connection with your brother. I am disappointed he would spurn that connection as well.”</p><p>“He knows I would have told you,” she growls, crossing her arms. “But even if it had been just moments before his public announcement, he could have... ah,” she turns away from her father then, wiping at tears she has practised for years.</p><p>“Forgive me, Father, for losing my composure.”</p><p>
  <em>This is the moment she becomes a true Arasaka, she thinks. Her father raised her well--too well.</em>
</p><p>Her father pads across the office and places a gentle hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“I am sorry for doubting you, Hana-chan,” he murmurs.</p><p>
  <em>As twisted as he is, she realizes he really is sorry. What a strange and rare sight. It hurts her, a little, to have deceived him. She knows he loved her in his own way, and she loved him too. Even now, she cannot bring herself to fully hate him.</em>
</p><p>“There is no need to apologize, Father,” she whispers, leaning her head on his hand. “He has hurt you, too.”</p><p>Her Father hums in approval, pleased by her words.</p><p>
  <em>She knew he would be.</em>
</p>
<h6></h6><p>She is seventy-seven, he is eighty-one.</p><p>Goro Takemura is thirty-nine. Even having served her father for almost two decades, she still sees him as young. He is ignorant, as she and Yorinobu had been, and he is fiercely loyal. </p><p><em>She wondered then how long her father could keep him in the dark. It was not the right concept to ponder, not quite. She should have wondered</em> why <em>her father was keeping him in the dark. Her father knew what kind of man Goro was--unfaltering, unwavering, a man of honor. If he were to find out about Arasaka’s less than honorable secrets, Saburo would have quite the foe on his hands. But if he could keep Goro’s faith alive, the man would happily destroy anyone who tried to tarnish the Arasaka name.</em></p><p>“Saburo-sama,” Goro’s voice is saying, exasperated, as she approaches the office.</p><p>
  <em>Always the office.</em>
</p><p>“I have the utmost respect for you and your wishes, but I do not trust Yorinobu-san. I do not trust him at all.”</p><p>Ah, so that is what he father has called on her to talk about.</p><p>She enters then, knowing she is not interrupting. She did not expect her father to respond, nor does he as she enters. Goro murmurs a quiet “Hanako-sama” and bows.</p><p>“I would like to speak with my daughter alone, Takemura-san.”</p><p>She watches Goro’s eyebrows pull together for the briefest moment, watches a muscle twitch below his left eye. He sweeps into a bow <em>(though her father is still not looking--she feels frustration then, frustration at his arrogance)</em> and when he rises, his face is impassive. He leaves the office, closing the door behind him with a soft click.</p><p>“Hanako,” Saburo begins, standing at his usual spot in front of the window. “I take it you have heard the news?”</p><p>“Yes,” she says, approaching him. She stands beside him to overlook Tokyo, clasping her hands behind her and mirroring his stance. “Yorinobu contacted me personally.”</p><p>“I thought he might,” he father murmurs. “Did you respond?”</p><p>“Not yet.”</p><p>“Good.”</p><p>They stand together in silence for a few minutes before Saburo speaks again.</p><p>“If I were to consider pardoning your brother,” he says, and she stiffens, surprised. “What would you think?”</p><p>She does not answer right away, weighing her words carefully. Her father waits patiently, eyes still on the skyline. </p><p>“I would be thankful,” she begins slowly, watching Saburo in her peripheral, “and… perplexed, about your mercy.”</p><p>Her father chuckles at that, and the sound is strangely warm.</p><p>“Hana-chan,” he says affectionately, finally turning to look at her. “You truly are the heart of this family.”</p><p>She bows her head slightly, feeling a flush creep along her cheeks.</p><p>“You honor me, father.”</p><p>“The honor is mine for having you as a daughter.”</p><p>
  <em>She doesn’t expect his words to still hurt as much as they do.</em>
</p><p>“Your brother, on the other hand,” his eyes look out over Tokyo again. “My last remaining son, my heir. He brings me no honor, and yet there may be a use for him still.”</p><p>Something cold coils in her stomach. She remains still, letting her own eyes drift over the city lights below.</p><p>“There are those in this company who support him, even as he returns with his tail between his legs,” Saburo continues. “They are foolish. I have eyes and ears everywhere. His return is a ruse, his shame a disguise. He means to usurp me.” </p><p>Hanako’s gasps in genuine horror as she jerks to face her father in full.</p><p>
  <em>She is fortunate, so very fortunate, that her father misinterpreted her horror.</em>
</p><p>“Do not worry, sweet Hanako,” her father says gently. “I have survived far worse than his ill-conceived schemes. However, misfortune will be transformed into fortune. He does not know it yet, but he will provide me with a gift most exquisite.” </p><p>She says nothing as fear and horror churn inside her, fighting to keep her body language from showing too much.</p><p>
  <em>She is failing. She is trembling. She can see the raw panic of her younger self, but her father misinterprets this as well. If there are gods they smiled upon her that day.</em>
</p><p>“It will be hard for you, Hana-chan,” he puts his hand on her shoulder <em>(the only way he knew how to show affection)</em>, “Yorinbou will kill me. Of this, I am certain.”</p><p>She sucks a breath in, sharp and painful and panicked, and her father squeezes her shoulder gently.</p><p>“But I will not fall so easily,” Saburo continues, his voice calm and comforting but this is...</p><p>
  <em>Wrong, all wrong. He wasn’t supposed to have known.</em>
</p><p>“Those who rally behind your brother, both inside and outside of Arasaka, will relish in his victory. I will no longer need to seek them out--the traitors will expose themselves.”</p><p>She is starting to become light-headed.</p><p>“F-father…” she pushes out, “I don’t… I don’t understand…”</p><p>“Soulkiller,” her father says, <em>and the gravity of his voice has never been stronger, has never suffocated her more, pulling her down, down, down…</em></p><p>She stumbles away from him and sinks into his office chair. The room is spinning.</p><p>“It has been perfected,” he is watching her now, he is worried, and <em>why does that worry hurt so badly?</em> “You cannot tell the difference, can you?”</p><p>She opens her mouth but no sound comes out. She gapes at her father, white-knuckles clinging to the arms of his office chair.</p><p>He walks over to her, and cups her face in his hands.</p><p>
  <em>She’d wondered then: when had he traded his human soul for a digitized version? Now she thinks, perhaps he never had a soul to begin with.</em>
</p><p>“Yorinobu will kill me, but you will save me, my heart. I will be born again, and Arasaka can rebuild, stronger than ever.”</p><p>“I still don’t…” she whispers as his eyes gaze fondy into her own, “Father… how will I bring you back?”</p><p>She’d managed to find the right words. <em>She is an Arasaka, after all.</em> He rewards her with a rare smile and smoothes back her stray hairs.</p><p>“While Soulkiller has been perfected, the cloning process has not yet,” Saburo says, and his smile turns sinister. “As I told you, dear one, your brother will be of use to me yet.”</p><p>Her eyes widen and she feels bile rise in her throat. Her father continues to smooth her hair, and swallowing thickly, she leans into his touch. </p><p>
  <em>It took every ounce of willpower not to shudder.</em>
</p><p>“You will get to keep both of us,” Saburo says softly <em>and she wants to scream--how dare he insinuate this was for her?</em> “The family will be together again, and all will be well.”</p><p>“Yes, father,” she murmurs weakly, and he smiles at her again.</p><p>“I know it is a lot to take in,” he says, and he’s turned away to gaze out the window once more. “Take all the time you need to compose yourself. You may leave when you are ready.”</p><p>She nods even though she knows he isn’t looking anymore.</p><p>“Hana-chan?” he asks, back fully towards her now.</p><p>“Yes, father?”</p><p>“You are the heart of this family, the blood that gives life to the Arasaka name,” he says, and she knows <em>(she knew)</em> where this is going. “Never forget, heart, which family you are loyal to.”</p><p>She stands on shaky legs.</p><p>“I thought Yorinobu dead once,” she says, steeling her voice. “I have already grieved for him.”</p><p>Her father chuckles approvingly and she makes her leave.</p>
<h6></h6><p>She is seventy-eight, he is eighty-two.</p><p>They are in the Net, sitting around their childhood kotatsu. She wrings her finger and he smiles at her, that same sad smile he wore after their dance over sixty years ago. </p><p>“Father’s plane left an hour ago,” she says, and she has a hard time looking her brother in the eye. “He will arrive in Night City just after your sunrise.”</p><p>“Hana-chan,” Yorinobu sighs, reaching across the table to calm her twisting hands. “It will be alright.”</p><p>“Will you really be able to kill him?” she asks as he links his fingers through her own.</p><p>“I certainly hope so. That is part of his own plan, after all,” Yorinobu says, amusement in his voice.</p><p>“Damnit, Yorinobu,” she hisses and he flinches--she rarely uses expletives. “That’s not what I meant. I know… I know what he is, but he is still our father.”</p><p>Yorinobu sighs, pulling away to run a hand through his hair.</p><p>“I know, Hanako,” he says softly. “But this is the only way.”</p><p>
  <em>She knew this, she was just loath to admit it.</em>
</p>
<h6></h6><p>She is still seventy-eight, he is still eighty-two. Two months have passed and he is alive, but not for much longer.</p><p>“I knew, from the start,” Hanako says,</p><p>V is twenty-seven, and they are looking at Hanako with something akin to betrayal in their eyes.</p><p>“You… knew?” they rasp.</p><p>
  <em>If only they knew just how much…</em>
</p><p>She spouts out her lines with practised calm. She watches V carefully, trying to see what Goro saw in them, wondering about this final and unexpected piece of her and Yorinobu’s plan-turned-puzzle.</p><p>V is frowning at her, and she stares back impassively.</p><p>“Yorinobu was just plain willin’ to sacrifice you,” V drawls, borderline impertinent.</p><p>“My father was right about my brother,” her face remains stony<em> but it hurts her to say this, it hurts her to lie,</em> “He never cared for us.”</p><p>They make their way to the bar, and Hanako plays her cards. Her poker face has been perfected over the years, and she watches the wheels turn in V’s head.</p><p>
  <em>What was it her father said? Misfortune brings fortune? While V added complications, she could also add assets. Hanako was still an Arasaka after all, and when she saw an opportunity, she took it.</em>
</p><p>“Offer’s intriguing,” V says, breaking eye contact to take a drink. They return their glass to the countertop and frown at something behind the bar. “Need to think about it.”</p><p>“Naturally,” Hanako says, “but think quickly.”</p>
<h6></h6><p>“... if planting bombs not enough, what can you do?” she hears her brother, and her steps quicken.</p><p>
  <em>Even now, she balks. What was he saying? That wasn’t part of the script.</em>
</p><p>“You become bomb,” he finishes as she sweeps into the room. He is on his knees, broken and defeated, and she immediately goes to him.</p><p>“Hanako,” he sighs as she sinks onto her knees in front of him. “I’ve been waiting for you. When the world turns to rubble, you always appear.”</p><p>“Quiet,” Hanako murmurs, but her voice is soothing. He rests his head on her lap and she strokes his hair. “Not in front of strangers.”</p><p>V is dismissed and she hears the doctor, haughty and ignorant on their way out: “Fate is a fickle mistress, isn’t she? You spend your whole life fighting something only to become that very same thing.”</p><p>Her fingers clench at her brother’s hair, but she has a final part to play and she will not fail. Yorinobu has positioned himself perfectly, and she leans forward, brushing the Relic against his skull. They are in full view of the elevator and she hears a soft gasp before a thud as the doors close.</p><p>“We are alone now,” she murmurs, pulling the Relic away. It burns in her hand. </p><p>For a moment, neither of them speak. She continues to stroke his hair, and she wishes, briefly, that this moment could last forever.</p><p>“I’m ready,” he says to her quietly.</p><p>“I’m not,” she whispers back.</p><p>He sits up then, shifting back in a crossed-legged position, and reaches out to her. She crawls onto his lap, tears already falling, and buries her face in his chest.</p><p>“Will he see this?” Yorinobu asks against her hair.</p><p>“Not if you experience blunt-force trauma,” she says, fingers digging into his shirt. “He should remember your final speech, but not much else once Nakajima-san is through.”</p><p>“We don’t have much time then,” he says with a sigh, rubbing circles on her back. “We can’t let this all be for nothing, Hana-chan.”</p><p>She nods before leaving his lap to gather the discarded pistol a couple feet away. She slowly stands and walks over to him, still cross-legged on the ground.</p><p>“I love you, brother,” she whispers, raising the gun.</p><p>“And I you, sister,” he whispers back, closing his eyes.</p><p>She whips him across the temple and slides their father’s Relic into his skull.</p><p>She breathes for a moment, composing her caricature, before taking out her phone.</p><p>“Nakajima-san?” she says, voice barely concealing panic. “My brother--he tried to kill himself, we fought over the gun and I… I hit him, somehow, and he’s unconscious--please, please Nakajima-san--”</p><p>“Where is your location?” Nakajima asks.</p><p>“Arasaka Tower, top floor,” her voice wavers with urgency. “Please hurry.”</p><p>A minute of silence passes.</p><p>“The Trauma Team will be arriving in 30 seconds,” Nakajima says, “I have advised them to stabilize the patient but left explicit instructions that any and all invasive procedures are to be left to my discretion.”</p><p>“Thank you, Nakajima-san,” Hanako says into the phone and hangs up.</p><p>She sends half of the promised eddies a moment later, as previously arranged. She will send the other half when the Relic has a ‘malfunction’ and her brother’s hippocampus is left with expansive damage. </p><p>It will be nothing the Relic cannot fix, but any information previously stored there will be gone forever.</p><p>
  <em>’I’m glad I could put your memories to rest that day,’ she thinks. ‘Even though I could not do the same for your body.’</em>
</p>
<h6></h6><p>While Saburo sleeps in his hospital bed, Hanako submits herself to Soulkiller.</p><p>
  <em>She allowed herself this one sentimentality. She wanted to die on the same day as her brother.</em>
</p>
<h3></h3><p>V is stunned.</p><p>Hanako and Goro sit across from them in the limousine, saying nothing. V’s mind is reeling--they’ve never experienced a braindance that long before, and it takes them a few moments to orient themself.</p><p>“That… wow,” they finally say, slowly removing the braindance wreath from their head. “That’s some.... heavy stuff.”</p><p>Goro’s lips twitch, but Hanako remains unreadable.</p><p>“Did you make this yourself?” they ask Hanako, trying to piece it all together. “Is that why you used Soulkiller on yourself? For a braindance?”</p><p>“For a testimony,” she says, leaning back in her seat and interlocking her fingers. “One of many.”</p><p>V looks to Goro then and all hints of amusement gone from his face. He looks to the limousine floor.</p><p>“I take it he got a different one than me?” V asks, unconsciously fiddling with the wreath in their hands.</p><p>“He did,” Hanako affirms, aloof as ever. “I allowed him to view yours as well, though.”</p><p>“I’d say no fair,” V says, discomfort defaulting into humor, “but this is a rare instance of not wanting a two-for-one deal.”</p><p>“Who said there was only two?” Hanako asks, a small smile on her lips.</p><p>V isn’t sure which is more concerning--Hanako displeased, or Hanako attempting to make a joke.</p><p>“So… what is this, exactly?” V asks, looking between Hanako and Goro. “Where do I come in?”</p><p>“My father has taken a keen interest in you,” Hanako says. Goro continues to stare at the floor, but V sees his eyebrows pinch ever-so-slightly.</p><p>“Alright…” V says slowly, “I have a feeling I know where this is going, but I’m gonna need more info than that.”</p><p>“I would like you to achieve what Silverhand so desperately wished,” Hanako says calmly. “The fall of Arasaka.”</p><p>“Excuse me, what?!” V sputters, head whipping around the limousine, scanning for any type of compromises in security.</p><p>“Do not make me repeat myself,” Hanako says, and the aloof coldness has returned. “And do not question my motive. I took great effort to get you here, and to create this,” she nods to the wreath, “for you. Do you accept?”</p><p>V turns to Goro, eyes wide. </p><p>“You,” they say, and he raises his eyes from the floor. “You hunted me down for this?”</p><p>“I did not ‘hunt you down’,” Goro says, indignant. </p><p>“You did not answer my calls,” Hanako interjects. “I had to use an alternative method.”</p><p>“So what, you’re her lapdog now?” V scoffs, and Goro flinches.</p><p>“Choose your next words carefully,” Hanako states, voice quiet but threatening. “Goro Takemura is a man of honor. I knew what path he would take once I exposed the truth to him.” Hanako leans forward towards V. “ Now the question is, which path will you choose?”</p><p>“Do I have a choice?” V whispers, deflated. Hanako’s eyes soften.</p><p>“I know you are not foolish enough to raise alarm against us,” she says. “There is no danger to you or your Nomad family. You are a valuable asset, and your assistance would be greatly appreciated in taking down my father once and for all. However, you are free to leave this limousine and never look back, so should you choose.”</p><p>V chews on their bottom lip and thinks for a moment.</p><p>“Well… shit,” they say under their breath, as if talking to themself. “Maybe Johnny will forgive me after all.”</p><p>“Is that a yes?” Hanako asks, and Goro’s eyes flicker to V’s.</p><p>“It’s a hell yes,” they say with a grin. “When do we start?”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>